December 27, 2012

Arnab's Year in Cities, 2012

The story arc of our lovable hero in 2012 saw me wrap up my humanitarian activities in Mumbai and relocate to Seoul to resume my career in the ad industry. I stopped over in Singapore on the way to Seoul, spent several days in Tokyo to pick up my South Korean work visa, and visited an old friend from high school in Taiwan.

The bulk of my travel this year was in the Old World. I scratched my European itch and emptied my bank account with four separate trips to the continent. This caused great consternation among Korean beauties, as it hampered my ability to buy them luxury handbags and gourmet coffee. While on my company trip, we spent a day exploring Munich in Germany before crossing over the border and the Alps into Austria. I also visited the Vatican from Rome.

I set foot in the Middle East for the first time, albeit unplanned, as a missed flight connection gave me the opportunity to spend a day in Bahrain. The Naminara Republic became the first micro-nation that I made my way to. The privately owned island declared its independence from South Korea in 2006, primarily to attract tourist attention.

This year I stayed overnight in 31 cities, spread out over 10 nations. A couple of countries and many cities are unaccounted for on this list, as I did not spend a night in them. South Korea is a geographically small nation with an efficient transportation system, so most places in the peninsula can be visited on day trips from Seoul.